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Difference between Fall off a truck and Fall off the turnip truck

fall off a truck—(U.S. euph.) said of an item that was probably stolen or obtained by questionable methods (also UK: fall off the back of a lorry):

  • It shouldn’t be surprising that in such circumstances a lot of those products will “get lost in warehouses” or “fall off a truck.”

Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase fall off the wagon—resume drinking after having stopped:

  • Broderson fell off the wagon again. After a week of heavy drinking, he pawned the trailer to an acquaintance.

fall off the turnip truck—(U.S. coll., usually negat.) be naive and gullible:

  • I spent almost ten years in the private sector, so it’s not like I just fell off the turnip truck.